Clarins Autumn & Winter preview bloggers event

I was lucky enough to attend the Clarins Autumn preview event last week in London, checking out their upcoming launches for the rest of the year. I love Clarins events as they always make them personal and small enough so they can explain to you individually about all the upcoming product launches. They are also one of my favourite brands so I always look forward to their events!

This one didn’t disappoint. We were shown the new Ambre Minerale Autumn make-upcollection, plus some compacts from the Christmas Odyssey collection which are inspired from the Greek gods. As you know I am a sucker for packaging so I love this new launch particularly due to the stunning packaging. The Oydessy Eye Quartet (£30) is my favourite and includes a variety of brown eyeshadows plus a stunning gold colour that can be applied wet or dry. I love Clarins eye shadows as they are very pigmented and last all day, you hardly need to apply much to your brush or fingers. They are so smooth they can be applied easily with your fingers. A tip from the Body Shop’s Chase Aston which I haven’t forgotten, your (clean) fingers are your best tools for applying eyeshadow!

The  stunning Oydessy Eye Quartet (£30)

The yummy cakes!

I also love the Limited Edition Colour Accents Face and Blush Palette (£30) which compliments all skin types and tones. You simply blend the shades together for a luminous sheen or use individually for a highlighted effect and even reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines with the Light-Optimizing+ Complex. I don’t normally wear blushers as I have quite a red skin tone anyway, but this is lovely as it’s a mixture of bronzer and blusher so something a bit different. 

We were also colour matched by the lovely Marie (below) for the new Clarins Skin Illusion Mineral & Plant Extracts Loose Powder Foundation which I haven't tried yet but will keep you posted. The loose mineral powder contains Pink Opal Powder and Pink Algae Extract to boost radiance and hydrate. It costs £28 and will launch on 6th September 2012 at House of Fraser and everywhere else from 24th October 2012.

Thanks to Clarins for the invite to the event, I had a great time and was lovely to catch up with fellow bloggers Natalya, Leanne, Sarah and Hayley. I am really impressed by the new collections and feel Clarins has stepped up their efforts in their make up collections rather than focusing on just skincare. 

What do you think of the new collection, anything that catches your eye?

Win a year’s supply of John Frieda Sheer Blonde products

I have an exciting competition for a Friday afternoon! Thanks to John Frieda you could win a year’s supply of John Frieda Sheer Blonde products. The winner would receive 12 bottles of the range of their choice, one for every month! The winner may pick one of the following categories from the Sheer Blonde range: Lightening, Tone Correcting, Moisturising or Enhancing. To enter, watch the John Frieda exclusive Hair Bow tutorial video shown below and answer the question.

What does the third twist of the hair band do?

 

The John Frieda You Tube Channel is really useful as you can pick up some great hair tips for free. Visit www.youtube.com/user/johnfriedauk to watch the videos and try out the hair bow style!

Giveaway Info & Rules

- Leave the answer to the question as a comment on this post and you may enter as many times as you like but please leave a few hours between each answer - nobody likes spam!

- Include your email address or Twitter within your answer so I can contact the winner

- UK winner only

- Prize will be sent by John Frieda, so they are responsible for getting the prize to the winner

- Entrants under the age of 16 must have parental/guardian permission to participate

- The winner will receive a year’s supply of John Frieda products (12 bottles of each product)

- The winner may pick ONE of the following categories from the Sheer Blonde range: Lightening, Tone Correcting, Moisturising or Enhancing

Good luck! I will pick a winner next Friday 10th August 2012. 

Accessorize products - excellent dupes!

I know I am a bit slow to the Accessorize bandwagon as their summer collection launched back in May but I was unable to attend the event. Anyway I was shopping in Accessorize last week and saw their make up range and thought I would try out a couple products.

Accessorize products I purchased

I went for the ThailiaRock Star Duo Eye Shadow (£4) and Scandal with Love Merged Blush (£6). I love their product names, very original. First impressions are the baked products are very similar to the Baked to Last collection from The Body Shop but much cheaper. Baked for 8 hours, the texture of the products is easy to blend and natural looking and very pigmented. Normally in cheaper products you lose the strong pigmentation but not in these, they blend beautifully.

Thailia Rock Star Duo Eye Shadow - £4

The eyeshadows are £6 than The Body Shop versions, with the bronzer £11 cheaper so worth comparing. I didn’t try the bronzer but it looked very similar to The Body Shop one and the Prestige bronzers. I will definitely try that out next time and review.

Let me know if you have tried out the Accessorize range and what you think of the quality?

My holiday essentials: Suncare

Suncare is tricky. What brands do you buy, how much, what SPF, will it suit your skin and what do you really need? I get asked a lot by friends and family on what suncare products I use so I thought I would write about my staple products which I used on my last holiday. Some I have been using for years and others are new products. There are a lot of products out there you can skimp on but suncare definitely isn't one of them, it's vital to protect your skin and hair from the sun's harmful UV rays which we can't see. I would say you need to allow 1 bottle per person, every week of your holiday of suncream and make sure you have a specific face cream as well which will often be a higher factor. At least SPF 20.

Piz Buin Tan and Protect Oil SPF 30

A new product I tried on holiday this time and I love it! Normally oils don't offer much SPF protection so I am reluctant to use but SPF 30 is great. Safe tanning and accelerating, a great combination. I still have a great tan a month after returning from holiday which hasn't peeled or faded too much. The oil also is not too slimy and smells lovely, unlike some oils. When you use low SPF oils they just make you burn and peel as soon as you are home, so worth trying this one. It's better than half price at Superdrug at the moment, a bargain at £8.49.

Schwarzkopf Professional BC Bonacure Sun Protect Spray Conditioner

Don't forget your hair when you're on holiday! Like skin, hair exposed to the sun needs proper sun protection to avoid damage caused by UV-rays and the sea/chlorine. BC SunProtect Spray Conditioner is a lightweight spray that protects the hair against the harmful effects of sun exposure, seawater and sand abrasion before, during and after sun exposure. I always spray this on my damp hair after coming out of the pool/sea and comb through. It helps to protect my highlights and ensures my hair isn't straw like by the end of the holiday.

Guard your skin against signs of premature wrinkles and ageing with this lovely after sun for your face. I don’t like using after sun for your body on my face, as it is too greasy. It not only comforts skin with soothing Sunflower Seed extract, its revitalising skin care benefits help reduce the appearance of fine lines while protecting against free radicals that can remain active long after sun exposure. The Clarins after sun face care also helps prolong your tan on your face, as that is normally the first part of your body that fades!

Cinique City Block Sheer SPF 25

Protecting your face from the sun’s harmful rays is a must. Clinique’s City BlockSheer SPF 25 is a sheer, broad-spectrum UVA/UVB daily sunscreen. The lightweight formula helps lock out perspiration and absorb excess oil. I use the sun block every morning on holiday and make sure I reapply after swimming or every four hours to avoid sunburn and wrinkes! It’s also really good as an invisible makeup primer worn under foundation if you are on a city break. It does make me cringe when I see people applying sun lotion to their faces, as normal sun cream is too greasy for your face so important to use a face specific cream. I also recommend the Maybelline BBCream for holidays as that has an SPF 30 in it, plus hides blemishes so perfect for a little more protection on the beach. 

You must try this aloe vera after sun gel from Ambre Solaire, it’s amazing on sun parched skin. My top tip is to keep in the fridge and use when you get out the shower straight away to sooth sun exposed skin, I also carry on using after sun at least a month after my holiday to help preserve my tan. People always tell me I look brown long after my holiday so it must work ;)  Get down to Superdrug as they have Ambre Solaire products better than half price at the moment, they really must be struggling to shift them in all this rain!

                               

The final suncare product I recommend (sorry there are a few!) which I use when I am back home in the UK is Clarins After Sun Moisturiser Self Tanning (£18). Warning this product does contain self tan so apply sparingly and make sure you wash your hands thoroughly afterwards! What I love about the Clarins after sun is although it is pricey at £18, it doesn’t smell of fake tan like other tan preserver products and it gives you a nice colour and helps maintain your tan. I’ve gone through a whole bottle of this after my holiday in June, oops!

Hope you enjoyed my essay on suncare products and what I love, let me know what your staple products are for a holiday. I have used all these products numerous times so they are well tested!

Post holiday update... I'm engaged!

 Sorry for the lack of updates the past month, I have been away on holiday for two weeks in Spain and Germany, had a netball weekend away to Butlins, a friend's wedding and been busy at work! However I am back and raring to go with lots of planned summer (hmmm not sure where that has gone!) posts and reviews of what I used on holiday if you are planning to go away!

The exciting news is while I was on holiday my lovely boyfriend proposed to me in Spain! We were out for dinner and he gave me the ring which was very sweet and romantic, sadly he didn't go down on one knee but he is German and that isn't tradition there - boo. Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know this and thank you all for the congratulation messages. Hopefully we will get married in Spain in two years time at this lovely church in Altea, near Alicante. Any tips on wedding blogs/ideas will be much appreciated! I promise not to go on about the wedding too much and forget the beauty aspect of my blog! I am also researching wedding planners in the Costa Blanca area, so again any recommendations would be appreciated as there seems to be a few. 

Anyway here are a few photos from my holiday I thought I would share with you :)

Beautiful church in Altea in Alicante where we hope to marry

My beautiful engagement ring, lots of diamonds!

My fiancé and I in Germany visiting his family!

Umberto Giannini Incredible Body range

Umberto Giannini has teamed up with the beautiful Millie Mackintosh from Made in Chelsea with their new hair range called ‘Incredible Body’. I do love Millie’s hair (who wouldn’t!) so was intrigued to try out the new range.  I am not normally a fan of products that give your hair volume, as I spent a fortune on keratin treatments to straighten my hair. However, I feel in love with the packaging (yes I am a sucker for packaging) and I knew my Mum and Sister would both be able to try out for me and review. I have also being using the Blow Dry Spray myself when I am giving my hair a bit of oomph on a night out and love it! My Mum is also really impressed with the shampoo and mousse and how they give her hair volume that lasts. So many products drop out after a few hours, but not these ones.

The Incredible Body range is made up of shampoo, conditioner, mousse and blow dry spray – four products key to obtaining ultimate volume. Prices start from £5.29 at Boots. They will also look amazing on your dressing gown and smell lovely as per all Umberto Giannini products. Overall I feel this is a great mid-priced range to try out if you don’t want to spend a fortune.

Let me know what you think – have you tried this range before?

Romsey Holistic Beauty review.....why I don't use night cream anymore!

I have been trialling a new skincare routine the past two weeks, after having a lovely facial at my local beauty salon Romsey Holistic Beauty, in Romsey, Hampshire. Although most of my readers won’t be anywhere near Hampshire, I thought a review of the Italian skincare products used would be interesting especially as they aren’t available yet to buy in mainstream salons in the UK.

The skincare products used for the Classic Facial which I had, are from the Italian brand C.A.P.S. Their philosophy is to use only organic active agents with low molecular weights for fast absorption. All the products are parabens free, mineral oils free, pegs free, glycols free, artificial colourants free. I have copied this explanation from their Italian website so it’s not the clearest translation! “With utilisation of pharmaceutical ingredients, in conjunction with Italian renowned cosmetic laboratory of Milan University, CAPS develops phytoceutical approach that combines both pharmaceutical and therapeutic principles in a safe way for skin care, respecting body natural balance and protection”.

The C.A.P.S products and cleansing cloths I have been using

 The lovely owner of Romsey Holistic Beauty, Liz Cadogan Friedman, said that when you are choosing a skincare product you shouldn’t been able to taste the product for it to be good for your skin. I didn’t know this and it made me think of all the products I have chosen in the past because I like the smell and taste of them! Eeek! She also told me off for using too much products on my skin and drowning it, particularly at night. I have been using the CAPS cleanser with the cleansing cloths in the evening to remove my make up, with NO NIGHT CREAM. I couldn’t believe this as I religiously put night cream and serum on every night to look after my skin, but apparently I am drowning it! I have taken Liz’s word for it, as her skin is amazing. I love the CAPS cleanser and the cleansing cloths Liz gave me, which really cleanses and removes all traces of make up so you don’t need toner. My skin feels remarkably soft as well even though I am no longer using night cream and just the CAPS anti ageing day cream during the day. I definitely recommend using the cleansing cloths with your cleanser if you don’t already; it really cleans your skin. You can find out more about the products here online: www.revolutionline.it   

Romsey Holistic Beauty salon

The facial I had was the Classic Facial and was simply amazing. If you live in the Hampshire area I definitely recommend going to have one! I nearly fell asleep it was so peaceful and included cleansing, exfoliation, warm towels (steaming if necessary), facial massage and selection of deep cleaning or moisturising masks and a foot and shoulder massage. All for £40 and lasted well over an hour. Liz Cadogan Friedman is very knowledgeable and believes in good quality products and un-rushed treatments, which sadly isn’t the case in most salons today where you are rushed in and out in 5 minutes. Thanks Liz for a fab treatment and I look forward to returning soon to try out the other treatments the salon offers. 

Let me know what you think of my review – would you ever go without using night cream? Try it and see how you get on – your skin will thank you for it!

YSL La Laque Couture nail varnishes

 I am a big fan of Revlon and YSL nail varnishes as I find they don’t chip as quick as other brands plus the colours are gorgeous. I always go for the nude shades rather than really bright shades, more suitable for work and less obvious if they chip!

The new collection from YSL is called La Laque Couture and is simply gorgeous. Take a look at all 30 shades, including some lovely bright ones which are iconic YSL colours and inspired by their fashion collections.

My favourite shade so far is No 24 Rose Abstrait, which I wore to a wedding at the weekend. What do you think? I love it and it’s a perfect nude shade which is part of the ‘French’ look in the collection. The varnishes aren’t cheap at £18 but worth it for a staple shade this summer. They also don’t chip easily and feel smooth and shiny on your nails so thumbs up from me.

Who else has tried the new collection and what do you think?

Summer fragrances from The Body Shop

If you are a fan of lighter (and cheaper!) summer fragrances, you’ll be excited to hear The Body Shop are launching some limited edition summer versions of their classic perfumes.

They include my favourite 2009′s Love Etc…, 2010′s Dreams Unlimited and 1981′s White Musk. White Musk Sun Glow contains notes of lemon, peony, sandalwood and musk; Love Etc... Sun Kiss includes notes of bergamot, jasmine, sandalwood and amber; and Dreams Unlimited Sun Fresh has notes of watermelon, mandarin, orris and salty aquatic notes. White Musk reminds me of being 15 again so brings back good memories but I really love Dreams Unlimited and Love Etc. All the perfumes are £15 and are perfect for long summer evenings and holidays – can’t wait! Click here to check out the whole range and book online. 

Vaseline 2-in-1 Hand Cream + Anti Bac review

I popped in to meet the lovely Carly at Lexis PR on Thursday to find out about the new Vaseline 2-In-1 HandCream + Anti Bac and have a relaxing hand massage! The new Vaseline 2-In-1 is priced at £3.29 and combines hand cream with anti-bacteria gel which I believe is a new concept to the market.

I took a photo of the timeline on display which shows the activities that we do throughout the day with our hands that dry them out and gather germs. It totally freaked me out how much dirt you can pick up – like traveling on the tube, walking the dog and taking out the rubbish (yuck). Activities like this play havoc to our hands but which we don’t notice so that’s where there’s a need for a handcream that has both moisturising and anti-bacterial properties.

The timeline of our daily activities 

Tests have shown that the Vaseline 2-In-1 Hand Cream + Anti Bac reduces 99.9% of bacteria within 15 seconds of use (I like it!). The 2-In-1 also contains 5 essential moisturisers including collagen amino acids and glycerin so your hands feel mositurised, which is great as normally anti bac gels are really drying. The cream also seems lovely, a bit like an apple smell and will definitely encourage you to use it more because it is so moisturising! Maybe it will mean I get fewer colds in the winter as I am cleaning my hands more often?! Let’s see!

What are your thoughts on this new concept, will you be trying? For £3.29 I would definitely recommend as it keeps your hands clean most importantly and also mositurised. A must if you live in London and travel by tube or work in an office typing on dirty keyboards. Gross! 

L'Oreal Paris Nude Magnifique BB Cream review

Continuing my review of BB creams, I have tried out the new L'Oreal Nude Magique BB Cream (£9.99 from Boots/Superdrug). It is designed to recreate the texture and glow of perfect nude skin, it is aimed to be feather light on the skin and has smart pigmentation capsules that correct tone, cover imperfections and refines the skin texture. This texture reminds me of Soap and Glory Glow Job Moisturiser, which has bronzer included to brighten up your face and changes colour when you apply it to your skin. It also promises 24hour hydration with an SPF 12 (which does seem low for BB creams as they are usually at least SPF 15)

My favourite BB cream I have tested so far is the first one I ever tried, Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector which offers the most complex, complete coverage. I also love Maybelline BB Cream which my sister bought me from Thailand, which isn’t out the UK yet but offers a similar coverage. Where Garnier is dewy and gives a tinted moisturiser level of coverage, Nude Magique uses pigments so the cream starts out white and as you blend the pigments are released. The end result you can see here:

BB cream blended in to my skin

As you can see this medium shade matches my skin tone fairly well. However I have found the coverage to not be as complete as other BB creams, and I have applied foundation on top! I suggest you may prefer to wear this BB cream as a primer/skin brightener under foundation if you don’t have photo perfect skin! I do love the smooth texture of Nude Magique and am happy with the colour match with my skin. I know some people have complained the colours are either too pale or ‘orange’ looking!

What do you think is the best BB cream out in the UK at the moment? I haven’t tried Estee Lauder or No7 yet, are they worth trying out?   

ABSOLUT Instagram photography competition

ABSOLUT have come up with a great Instagram photography competition, giving you the chance to win a limited-edition bottle of ABSOLUT® LONDON designed by Jamie Hewlett. ABSOLUT London is a collaboration with Jamie Hewlett who has designed the bottle to celebrate the creativity of iconic periods, and the Londoners who defined them over the past 200 years, which have made London one of the leading cultural and forward-thinking capital cities in the world. I love it and will look good on your drinks shelf after you have consumed the vodka! ;)

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is capture an image of something that perfectly sums up one of London’s greatest features. Then you must add the #absolutlondon hashtag PLUS one of these categories… #london #entertainer #music #entrepreneur #fashion.

The cool London bottle designed by Jamie Hewlett

My Pinterest board on London fashion and style and what it means to me!

I have put together a Pinterest board on London fashion and style and what it means to me, to give you inspiration for the competition. What do you think?

For full details and to check out the current entries visit: http://facebook.com/absolutuk Good luck everyone! Get entering, it’s a fab competition!

Liz Earle Beauty Insider magazine

Beauty Insider magazine 

If you are a big Liz Earle fan like me you’ll be please to know they have just launched a brand new monthly magazine called Beauty Insider for UK customers. The magazine will include the latest Liz Earle news, behind-the-scenes stories, expert features and lots of invaluable advice from Liz herself.

Each Beauty Insider issue will also feature a new monthly skincare essentials regime with free p&p. Each month, our skincare essentials will include our tried-and-trusted daily essentials range along with a complimentary gift, specially chosen to meet your seasonal beauty needs. This month Liz Earle have selected the lovely Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask to help solve seasonal skincare woes. I love this mask, particularly after a busy week in the office; it’s perfect for re-hydrating dry skin that needs extra moisture. High performance botanical ingredients, including comfrey, help to tone and soothe while the balancing fragrance of rose-scented geranium essential oil aids relaxation. It also comes complete with the staple Liz Earle muslin cloth to help wash away. Lovely! It can also be used as an overnight intensive treatment – not sure if that would work for me I would cover my bed in face mask!!

If you can’t wait to read the magazine, you can see the latest edition online here: http://uk.lizearle.com/catalogview

What do you think of the new magazine and is it something you would be interested in reading?

Win a haircare park from L’Oréal Professionnel INOA in my blog competition!

I've got an exclusive blog competition for three of my lovely readers this week, courtesy of L’Oréal Professionnel. You could win one of three Colour Care haircare packs simply by commenting on this post. You must be a follower of my blog and I will select a winner next Friday 24^th February. Good luck!

 You may also want to try your hand at winning a trip to Paris, on the L’Oréal Professionnel Facebook page! They are on a mission to find the ultimate hair colour of the UK and Ireland with INOA COLOUR CONNECT on Facebook. With its interactive map that will calculate the nation’s most popular hair colours region by region, INOA aims to inspire hair lovers everywhere to join in and celebrate their hair colour by sharing how it defines them. The campaign is inspired by the revolutionary nature of INOA, which stands for Innovation No Ammonia and brings a breakthrough in hair colour which means no more ammonia and no more odour. INOA COLOUR CONNECT encourages hair fans and colour enthusiasts to add themselves to the map, upload a headshot and tell the community how their hair colour defines them. Each upload is then added to the interactive hair colour map. All entrants are entered into a draw to win one of a great selection of prizes including an INOA Colour Care Haircare pack or a Voucher Express voucher to the value of £50 every weekday, Monday through to Friday. All participants will be entered into the draw for the grand prize, an all-expenses paid trip for two to Paris, the capital of style.

What are you waiting for! Comment below to win a haircare park on my blog and pop over to the the L’Oréal Professionnel Facebook page to check out the hair colour map.

Good luck! Winners will be announced Monday 27^th February

My new hair!

 I don’t get to review many salons as my friend Leanne has a salon and I am a loyal customer! However she is now on maternity leave and I was offered the chance to visit JAS Hair, in Wilton, Salisbury. Their other salons are located in Salisbury and Christchurch and apart from hair services include an extensive range of beauty treatments, using Dermalogica, Fake Bake, Electrolysis, Jessica and Minx Nails. JAS Hair hairdressers are also specialists in Brazilian Keratin hair straightening which I am hoping to review at a later date. If you haven’t yet tried a Keratin treatment you can read a previous review I have done here. It is well worth the money!

The salon interior

 The salon itself is lovely, as you can see by my photos and very welcoming which is quite rare in hair salons as you find staff sometimes tend to be too busy to look after you. Not here! I love the beautiful garden out the back of the salon where you can sit outside in the summer whilst waiting for your colours to set. Shame I visited on a cold February day!

The gorgeous garden - shame it was too cold to go outside!

First of all I had my colour consultation from the lovely Shelly, who is the sister of the salon owner. She recommended I stuck with the highlights, but with three shades of blonde to try (one darker) and get my hair as natural looking as possible. I find with highlights the regrowth is quite obvious and I can't afford to keep getting my hair retouched every 6 weeks. The more natural the better for me!

Outside the salon - photo from Lydia Stamps Photography

Whilst I was waiting for my highlights to set (which didn't take long on my hair!) I received this lovely looking tray of tea and biscuits, plus some magazines to keep me amused. I then met with the lovely Robert Baker who was cutting my hair. Robert also works for Fashion Beans and you can follow him on Twitter @R0burt. Robert suggested that I go for a more choppy look, with layers at the back to give my hair more texture. I have been growing out my old layers as I found them difficult to maintain (ie I always had to have styled hair) but these were much longer layers which I like. Robert also chopped my length and finished it off in a blunt style. Finally he blowdried my hair (with his hands as that is better for your hair) and finished off with SchwarzkopfProfessional BLONDME Volume Miracle Cream (£11.45).

The gorgeous tea set!

 You can see the final result here! I love how natural my highlights look and the contrast of shades compared to my hair before. The team at JAS Hair were very professional, friendly and I really enjoyed my experience there so thanks for having me along. The price list the salon can be found here, plus you get 25% off if you are a student which is excellent as not many salons offer this.

Final shot of my new hair - love it! :)

 Let me know what you think!

♥

The Body Shop 'Chocomania' range review!

I was lucky enough to be sent a surprise package from The Body Shop containing several of their exciting new launches for February. If you are a chocolate lover (weirdly I am not!) you will love ‘Chocomania’, a chocolate inspired bath and body range. Made from 47% cocoa butter and offering 48 hours of skin moisturisation that is almost good enough to eat.

'Chocomania Body Butter (£12.50)

I tried the Body Butter which promises to give extra long-lasting hydration. It contains 13 Community Fair Trade ingredients – the most The Body Shop have ever put into one product. Ingredients include soya beans, Brazil nut, sugar cane, cocoa beans, coconut, olive, shea nuts! It leaves skin sweetly scented, and feeling softer and smoother. I can’t argue with the fact my skin was ultra soft and smooth – however I am not a fan of the smell which is quite sickly. It smells like chocolate ice cream, which I don’t like. I would imagine if you do like chocolate ice cream, then you will love it. The butter consistency is also much easier to rub in that other body butters I have tried, as I find sometimes they can be quick thick and difficult to rub in. This one is easily absorbed by your skin so a big thumbs up there.

The complete range consists of: Body Butter (£12.50), Body Scrub (£12.50), Body Lotion (£8), Lip Butter (£4), Shower Cream (£4) and soaps available in 100g for £2 or as a mini set for £3.50. For Valentine's Day, The Body Shop has also created a special Chocomania gift set which costs £28.

The whole 'Chocomania' range

Are you a chocolate lover, what do you think? Not for me as I am a berry fan but perfect for choc lovers and no calories!!

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

Beautiful lid!

If you are a fan of pretty packaging (whose isn't?!) then you'll love this gorgeous Swarovski Crystal embellished lid on Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (£34). The downside is it's only available at Harrods and if you purchase 3 GA products but it's worth it to have such a beautiful foundation. The foundation itself is wonderful, providing sheer, luminous coverage and lasting all day. It also makes your skin look dewy and fresh, which is a must have for me when selecting foundation. Oil free it is also suitable for oily skin types and uses microfill technology to cover scars and blemishes.

Check out my photos below: